Lots of 'fun' on one side, Phoebus breezes in rematch

Dave Johnson247-4649

This time, there was no call for drama or last-second heroics.

Eight days after needing a field goal in overtime to hold off Bethel, Phoebus ran away early and cruised to a 34-6 win over the Bruins at Darling Stadium in the Eastern Region Division 5 quarterfinals. The top-seeded Phantoms scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and led 27-0 at halftime.

"We were a whole different team tonight," said running back/safety Colby Goodwyn, who rushed for 162 yards and intercepted two passes. "We knew everybody had to step it up after last week, and everybody did.

"It started with the line. They were pretty mad because we had only 59 rushing yards last week."

Phoebus (11-0), which will host fifth-seeded Great Bridge on Friday night, nearly matched that on its opening drive. Goodwyn had 64 yards by the end of the first quarter and 125 at halftime.

Oh, and a 64-yard punt return to set up a touchdown. He added two interceptions in the second half and finished with 292 all-purpose yards.

"I'll tell you what," Phoebus coach Stan Sexton said. "He's a great football player. He does it all on both sides of the ball."

Phoebus' defense allowed 58 yards in the first half, all coming in the air. Daquan Romero's strip sack and Justin Williamson's recovery at the 1-yard line set up a touchdown to make it 27-0.

Early in the third quarter, backup cornerback Willie Greene returned an interception 65 yards to make it 34-0. He had just entered the game after starter Tyree Lee was hurt.

"It was my first interception," Greene said. "I thought they might try to pick on me because I was the backup and I had just come in."

If it wasn't already over, it was after Greene's pick-six. Bethel (6-5) finally got on the board on Rashad Manley's 2-yard run with 4:58 left in the third quarter, but the rest was a formality.

"We came out and had fun tonight," quarterback/safety Paul Morant said.

Bethel played the second half without head coach Jeff Nelson, who was injured on a sideline collision with 17 seconds left in the second quarter. After lying on the ground for several minutes, Nelson was helped to his feet and taken away in a golf cart.

After speaking with his players and coaches at halftime, Nelson left in an ambulance with what appears to be a shoulder injury. His right arm was positioned straight down and wrapped to his side.

"Hopefully he'll be all right," said Sexton, who went across to check on Nelson. "He should be very proud of his boys. They played hard."

The game started just like last week's — Bethel went three-and-out. But this time, Phoebus answered with a seven-play, 66-yard drive and took a 7-0 lead on Goodwyn's 31-yard run.

The Bruins punted again, and Goodwyn returned it 64 yards to the Bethel 1. Goodwyn dove in for another touchdown, and it was 13-0 after the PAT was blocked.

After another punt, Morant's 20-yard pass to Robinson made it 20-0 with 1:05 left in the first quarter.